Кристина Агилера – "Beautiful" әні

2002 single by Christina Aguilera

"Beautiful" is a song recorded by American singer Christina Aguilera for her fourth studio album, Stripped (2002). It was released as the album's second single on November 16, 2002. A pop and R&B ballad, "Beautiful" was written and produced by Linda Perry and discusses inner beauty, as well as self esteem and insecurity. Aguilera commented that she put "her heart and soul" into the track, which she felt represented the theme of Stripped. "Beautiful" received universal acclaim from music critics, who have ranked it among Aguilera's strongest material. It won the Grammy Award for Best Female Pop Vocal Performance and was also nominated for Song of the Year at the 2004 ceremony. "Beautiful" was also a commercial success, topping the charts in nine countries. The song peaked at number two on the Billboard Hot 100 in the United States, where it was certified double platinum for over 2 million units sold. "Beautiful" has been widely embraced as an anthem by the LGBT community for its message of self empowerment and inner beauty. An accompanying music video was directed by Jonas Åkerlund, and earned Aguilera a GLAAD Media Award for its positive portrayal of gay and transgender people. In 2011, UK LGBT rights organization Stonewall named "Beautiful" the most empowering song of the previous decade for gay, lesbian, and bisexual people. In 2009, Rolling Stone and VH1 listed it as one of the best songs of the 2000s. The song was later re recorded in an electronic style, titled "You Are What You Are (Beautiful)", for her first greatest hits album Keeps Gettin' Better: A Decade of Hits (2008).

"Beautiful" was written and produced by Linda Perry. Christina Aguilera recorded the song at two studios: The Enterprise Studios in Burbank, California, and Conway Recording Studios in Hollywood. Prior to the collaboration with Aguilera, Perry had written the song with the intention of recording it for a solo record. Perry previewed the song for Pink during recording sessions for the latter's sophomore studio album Missundaztood (2001), on which Perry worked as a producer. Perry later revealed to ASCAP, "When Christina came over to my house to start working, she asked me to play some songs to break the ice. [ ] I had a long conversation with my manager about it. We both decided to hear Christina sing it. We demoed the song with her singing it, and I was like, 'Wow'. That rough vocal is what is out there on radio. It was that vocal that got her the song". Perry said as Aguilera stepped in the booth to record, she said to her friend, "Don't look at me" – which Perry left at the start of the final track. She told Rolling Stone: "I knew I was going to keep that on the record, and I knew she was the right person for the song. I realized, 'Oh, she's insecure. She's one of those beautiful people who's got everything but is super insecure. Okay, this song is hers.'"

"Beautiful" is a pop and R&B ballad that discusses issues of self esteem and insecurity, promoting a message of self empowerment and embracing inner beauty. Larry Flick of Billboard added that the song talks about "overcoming life's trials", Chuck Taylor also of Billboard observed that it has a message of "holding oneself up against criticism from the outside,"

"Beautiful" was released as the second single from Stripped. It was first sent to American contemporary hit and rhythmic radio stations on November 16, 2002. The song was later released as a CD single on January 27, February 10, February 24, and February 25, 2003, in Germany, Australia, the United Kingdom, and France, respectively. Also on February 25, a digital remix EP of "Beautiful" was released worldwide. Two days later, the single was released as a maxi single in Canada. On March 11, 2003, the single was released as a CD in the United States.

"Beautiful" received universal acclaim from music critics. Stephen Thomas Erlewine of AllMusic commended the song for not following the "club and street level R&B, which fit her poorly". Similarly, a reviewer from Billboard described "Beautiful" as a "single worthy ballad" from a record of "pleasantly surprising depth". Entertainment Weeklys David Browne called the song one of Strippeds "moments", noting that it is "more restrained" than the other songs from the album. Sal Cinquemani of Slant Magazine commented that the collaboration with Linda Perry found Aguilera "truly naked" and reflective of the album's title. Stylus Magazines Todd Burns gave Stripped a negative review, but complimented "Beautiful" for "tastefully [reining] in Aguilera's frequent vocal acrobatics". Jane Dark of The Village Voice compared the song to the works of Mariah Carey "made back when she was a natural", and the Attitude magazine called it "universal". The Advocates Larry Flick named "Beautiful" a "Beatlesque ballad" and the "great queer anthem of 2003". He also listed it as one of the best songs of the year. At the 2004 Grammy Awards, "Beautiful" won the award for Best Female Pop Vocal Performance and was nominated for Song of the Year. "Beautiful" is considered to be Aguilera's signature song and has been recognized as being among the strongest tracks in her catalog. The song was ranked as her third best single by Rachel McRady of Wetpaint, who commented that "[Aguilera]'s inspiration ballad motivated an entire generation". PopCrush's Alexandra Capotorto named it as her favorite track by Aguilera, opining that the song is "definitely one of the most memorable and greatest Christina Aguilera songs to date". Rolling Stone ranked "Beautiful" at number 52 on their list of the 100 best songs of the 2000s, stating that it is "delivered with full fathom force by the bottle blond with the biggest voice". Similarly, VH1 positioned the track at number 18 on their list of the 100 greatest songs of the past decade. It is listed as one of the 100 best pop songs of all time by About. com. Pride Life Global ranked it as one of the twenty best gay anthems of all time.

"Beautiful" was quickly released after the underperformance of the album's first single, "Dirrty" in the United States. It achieved international success and was the highest charting single from Stripped in several territories. The song peaked at number two on the US Billboard Hot 100 for one week, becoming Aguilera's longest charting solo track, spending 27 weeks on the chart. The song additionally topped Billboard Adult Contemporary, Hot Dance Club Songs, and Pop Songs component charts. In Canada, the song peaked at number one on the Billboard Canadian Hot 100. Similarly, "Beautiful" proved successful in Europe, where it peaked within the top five of most markets in which it was released. Spending a total of 51 weeks on the UK Singles Chart, the song eventually peaked atop the chart becoming Aguilera's fourth UK number one; it was certified silver by the British Phonographic Industry. The following week, it debuted at number 74 on the US Billboard Hot 100 and peaked at number 52 on the Hot Digital Songs diagram with first week sales of 42,000 downloads on the iTunes Store.

Recognized as one of her signature songs, Aguilera has performed "Beautiful" at a number of venues and events. During the promotion of Stripped, she appeared on VH1's Big In Awards, Top of the Pops, and the 46th Annual Grammy Awards. The song was included on the setlists of The Stripped Tour, the Justified and Stripped Tour in 2003 and the Back to Basics Tour in 2006. "Beautiful" was also sung on the television special VH1 Storytellers in 2010. "Beautiful" has also been performed on charity events and fundraisings, such as CNN Heroes introduced by Anderson Cooper saying, "It's my pleasure to introduce a performer with unparalleled range and passion; her song is a reminder that out of great trials and tribulations we can all create something beautiful"; Justin Timberlake & Friends in 2010, and Hurricane Sandy: Coming Together in 2012. In 2021, Aguilera sang "Beautiful" at the Verizon's "Big Concert for Small Business" Super Bowl afterparty, at her performance at the Hollywood Bowl with Gustavo Dudamel and the Los Angeles Philharmonic, as well as the 47th People's Choice Awards.

"Beautiful" has been embraced by the LGBT community as an anthem. The Advocates Larry Flick believed the release of the song was "one of the most powerful moments of queer activism in 2003". In March 2011, the Columbus Children's Choir and Columbus Gay Men's Chorus joined to perform the song as a contribution to the It Gets Better Project. UK LGBT rights charity Stonewall named "Beautiful" the most empowering song of the decade for lesbian, gay and bisexual people; media personality and Stonewall contributor Paul Gambaccini called the song "a major achievement that has inspired millions of young people around the world." The result is based on the choice from 1,007 readers. "Beautiful" inspired a subgenre of empowerment pop songs including Katy Perry's "Firework" (2010) and Lady Gaga's "Born This Way" (2011). They noted that the "Grammy winning empowerment anthem provides a stunningly detailed illustration of the search for one's inner beauty amid battling insecurities".

+ Release dates and formats for "Beautiful" Region Date Format(s) Label(s) Ref. (Reference(s)) United States November 16, 2002 Contemporary hit radio, rhythmic contemporary radio RCA United Kingdom February 24, 2003 Cassette single, Cassette, maxi CD